Tree pruning saw



' April 30, 1946- B. J. SCHILLINGER TREE PRUNING SAW Filed' Aug. 9, 1944 Ira/sal Patented Apr. 30, 1946 U NIT ED STATES PATEN T '0 PH CE TREE PRUNING saw Byron IT. Schillinger, Beloit, Wis. Application August 9, 1944,s'ena1 No. 548,645

14 Claims.

, Myinvention relates to tree pruning s-'aws and has for its principal object the provision ofa saw which is simple and economical in construction and handier to operate than those previously available.

The pruning saw of my invention is of the type in which a steady-rest is provided "on the end of one pole and the saw blade is provided on the end of another 'pole slidable with respect to the first, the first pole being held at its inner end by one hand while the other is reciprocated with respect to it by means of a handle onits inner end held in the other .hand. The steadyrest is placed .in abutment with the back of the limb to be cut and in accordance with my invention is of resilient construction and disposed in straddling relation to the saw blade, and the latter, in accordance with my invention, is of curved .form with rip-saw teeth on the concave side adapted to cut on the back-strokes toward the steady-rest for efficient cutting.

Another feature of importance ,in'the'p'runing saw of my invention'is the provision of a pivoted handle on the rear end of the pole carrying the steady-rest, arranged to be locked normally in rigid operative relation to that pole but also arranged to be locked to the other pole whenever the operator prefers to have the poles move together as a unit, as in the sawing of larger limbs, where the steady-rest is not needed.

Still another feature is the provision of .cus'hioning spring means in the pole carrying the steady-rest, arranged to cooperate with a pin projecting from the other pole to absorb the shocks that are otherwise transmitted to the handles in the reciprocation of the saw blade, thusrnaking for smoother and quieter operation and reducing the likelihood of 'fatigue,

The invention is illustrated in'theaccornpanying drawing, in which 7 Fig. l is a side view of a'p'runing sawmade'in accordance with my invention, a points of one pole being shown ,in section to better illustrate the 'construction, and 2. moved position of the handle 'on the steady-rest pole being indicated i li a a s r. .r o

Fig. 2 is a per pective view of the enter end of the 'device to better illustratethe relationship of the steady-rest to thesaw blade; and

Fig. 3 is a face View of thepivoted handle. 1

. e same reference numerals are applied to correspondingparts inthese three views.

Thedevice comprises the steadyrest'pole JD whichis of one length and the savv pole I I which is of greater length, the pole l0 carrying the setting .up

steady-rest indicated generally b the reference numeral IZ on the outer end thereof and a handle indicated generally by the reference numeral 13 on the inner end thereof, and the pole H carrying the saw blade 14 on its outer end and having a handle [5 on its inner end. The poles l.0 and H are suitably made of wood and slidably connected together by U-shaped metal yoke's lb and H which serve to guide the pole II for reciprocation with respect to the pole Ill. The pole in is held by its handle i3 usually in the left hand and the pole I is reciprocated with the right hand grasping the handle I5.

I am aware that others have devised pruning saws involving this same general arrangement. However, most of these prior devices have not operated as satisfactorily as desired, for one reason 'or another. The principal difficulty with most of these earlier-devices appears to have been that their hold-on means were too complicated and not designed for handy operation, and in some instances their tendency was actually to impede the movement of the saw blade. Also, most .of these earlier devices included saw blades not particularly well adapted for the kind of work contemplated. In my device, the tree limb, as indicated indotted lines at T in Fig. 1, is more or less yiel'din ly engaged from behind or below by the bightportion l8 of the U-shaped spring wire l9formingthe'steady-rest [2, while the concave toothed inner edge '20 of the curved saw blade operating within the bight portion 18 of the (steady-rest engages the limb from one side to saw it. There is nothing in this combination that .could poss'iblyinterfere with easy operation time sawblade, because the arms 2| and 22 of the steady-rest engage the'limb on opposite sides of the saw-cut to reduce likelihood of any binding of the saw blade andthe steady-rest is sufliciently yield'able in a direction lengthwise with respect to the "saw blade 'togi've more or less in the sawing operaticn'andjby virtue of its-inherent resilience, remain fi rmly in Contact With the limb at all times throughout the sawing operation, without a binding action on the saw blade by reason 'of toop'ositive thrust bf the Tsteady-rest against the vliinb and towaid'the'toothed edge of theflsaw blade. The teeth 23 on the saw blade fll face 'towar'dthe steady-rest and are preferably of a rip type to cut on the back strokes of the pble .l l I have' io'und that the'concave curvature of the toothed edge 26 "of the saw blade greatly "increases the .efiiciency of operation and this islapparently :due to' the fact that the blade is caused to rise'an'd fall in the wood as the pole II is reciprocated, thereby insuring that each and every tooth is brought into action and takes a bite into the wood. The limb is cut on an upward angle from the outer side of the limb and on a downward angle on the near side with respect to the operator, instead of on a more or less straight line, thus reducing likelihood of splintering of the limbs at the ends of the cuts. The rise and fall of the saw blade in the cut is also considered to be of advantage from the standpoint of giving a better opportunity for the saw dust to escape, thus reducing drag on the saw blade. It is also believed that this rise and fall of the blade in the cut makes the weight of the poles Ill and I I more of a useful factor insofar as keeping the sawteeth in good contact with the work is concerned.

The attaching end portions 24 of the arms 2| and 22 of the steady-rest are bent at an angle of approximately 120 degrees with respect to the bight portion I8 for attachment to the outer end of the pole I0, the ends of these arms being bent at right angles, as indicated at 25, and entered in holes 26 provided therefor in the end portion of the pole. The clamping plate 2! straddles the end portions 24 and is fastened by means of screws 28 to the pole.

Reciprocation of the pole I I is limited by a stop pin 29 on the pole II working in a longitudinally extending slot 30 provided in the pole II]. There are coiled compression springs 3| and 32 suitably mounted on supports in the opposite ends of the slot 30 for engagement with the pin 29 to cushion the operation and absorb the shocks which would otherwise be transmitted to the handle I3 in the reciprocation of the handle I5. The compression and expansion of these springs 3| and 32 at the opposite extremes of movement of the pole I I is found to make for easier operation of the saw all around, because the pole is given an impetus in the opposite direction each time it reaches the limit of movement in either direction. The smoothening of operation and elimination of shock is found to lessen fatigue and a workman can accordingly accomplish more in the course of a days work with a saw made in accordance with my invention than with the old type.

The handle I3 comprises a stirrup frame 33 pivoted at 34 to the rear end portion of the pole I0, preferably using the same bolt as a pivot that is used for fastening the guide member I! to the pole Ill. The handle proper is shown at 35 as tubular and fastened between the side members of the frame by a bolt 36. A latch pin 37 is slidable in a, hole 38 provided in the inner side member of the frame 33 and is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 3 by means of a leaf spring 39 fastened at its free end to the latch pin 31 and riveted at its other end to the inner side member of the frame, as indicated at 40. The latch pin 3! normally is received in a hole 4| provided therefor in the adjacent side of the pole II] but is also arranged to be entered selectively in a hole 42 provided in the same side therefor in the pole I I, the pin 31 having a pull-button 43 provided on the inner end thereof, as indicated in Fig. 3, for

aseases tate steadying of the limb with the steady-rest I2, the handle I3 can be locked to the pole II by entry of the pin 31 in the hole 42, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. l, and with that arrangement the poles I0 and I I are fixed with respect to one another and the operator can handle the two poles in the same way that he would a single pole and can perate the saw efiiciently using both hands to exert greater force and heavier pressure on the saw.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A pruning device, comprising, in combination, a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a steady-rest on the one end of one pole and a saw on the same end of the other pole normally reciprocable by the latter pole with respect to the first pole, handle means on the other end of said poles, whereby the saw carrying pole is adapted to be reciprocated while the other pole is held to hold the steady-rest against the work, and means for releasably locking said poles together for reciprocatory movement as a unit.

2. A pruning device comprising, in combination, a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a steady-rest on the one end of one pole and a saw on the same end of the other pole normally reciprocable by the latter pole with respect to the first pole, handles on the other end of said poles, whereby the saw carrying pole is adapted to be reciprocated while the other pole is held to hold the steady-rest against the work, and locking means on one of said handles on one of said poles for releasably locking it to the other pole, whereby to permit reciprocation of the poles together as a unit.

3. A pruning device comprising, in combination, a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a steady-rest on the one end of one pole and a saw on the same end of the other pole normally reciprocable by the latter pole with respect to the first pole, handles on the other end of said poles, whereby the saw carrying pole is adapted to be reciprocated while the other pole is held to hold the steady-rest against the work, the handle on the steady-rest pole being pivotally mounted on said pole for swinging movement with respect thereto, and means on said handle cooperating selectively with means on said poles for releasably locking said handle in rigid relation to either pole, for the purpose described.

4. A pruning device comprising, in combination, a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a steady-rest on the one end of one pole and a saw on the same end of the other pole normally reciprocable by the latter pole with respect to the first pole, handles on the other end of said poles, whereby the saw carrying pole is adapted to be reciprocated while the other pole is held to hold the steady-rest against the work, the handle on the steady-rest pole being of stirrup form and pivotally mounted at its small end on one side of said pole for swinging movement in a vertical plane alongside the poles from one pole to the other for rigid connection with either pole, and means on the large end of said handle for detachably connecting the same to either handle, for the purpose described.

5. A pruning device comprising, in combination, a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a steady-rest on the one end of one pole and a saw on the same end of the other pole normally reciprocable by the latter pole with respect to the first pole, handles on the other end of said poles, whereby the saw carrying pole is adapted to be reciprocated while the other pole is held to hold the steady-rest against the Work, the handle on the steady-rest pole being of stirrup form and pivotally mounted at its small end on one side of said pole for swinging movement in a vertical plane alongside the poles from one pole to the other for rigid connection with either pole, said poles having holes in the adjacent side adapted to receive a latch pin on the handle for locking the handle to either pole selectively, and a latch pin on said handle for entry selectively in a hole in either pole.

-6. A device as set forth in claim 5, including spring means carried on said handle tending normally to urge the latch pin to move in locking direction, and manually operable means for retracting the pin.

7. A device as set forth in claim 5, including a leaf spring fixed at one end on said handle and carrying said pin on its other end and tending normally to hold the pin in looking position, and a knob on the outer end of said pin for retracting the same.

8. A pruning device comprising, in combination, a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a steady-rest on the one end of one pole and a saw on the same end of the other pole, handle means on the other end of said poles for reciprocating the saw pole while the steady-rest pole is held to keep the work steady, means for limiting the movement of said saw pole relative to said steady-rest pole in either direction, and spring cushion means for absorbing the shock at the limits of movement.

9. A pruning device comprising, in combination, a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a steady-rest on the one end of one pole and a saw on the same end of the other pole, handle means on the other end of said poles for reciprocating the saw pole while the steady-rest pole is held to keep the work steady, and spring cushioning means for resisting movement of said saw pole relative to said steady-rest pole at opposite extremes of movement of said saw pole.

10. A pruning device comprising, in combination, a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a steady-rest on the one end of One pole and a saw on the same end of the other pole, handle means on the other end of said poles for reciprocating the saw pole while the steady-rest pole is held to keep the work steady, a stop projection on one of said poles and abutments on the other pole for cooperation with said projection to limit reciprocatory movement of said saw pole, and compression springs on said abutments for engagement with said stop projection to cushion the movement of said saw pole at its opposite limits.

11. In a tree pruning device, the combination of a pair of relatively slidable, parallel, elongated poles of substantial rigidity, means for holding said poles together in operative relationship, a saw on the outer end of one of said poles reciprocable therewith, a resilient, forked, elongated steady-rest member carried on the outer end of the other pole and disposed in straddling relation to the saw to engage behind the limb to be cut on opposite sides of the saw cut, said steady-rest member being yieldable somewhat with the limb in its movement in the sawing thereof while maintaining substantially full engagement therewith throughout the sawing operation, and handle means on the inner end of said poles for reciprocating the saw pole while the other pole is held to keep the steady-rest against the limb.

12. A device as set forth in claim 11, wherein said saw is concavely curved at least on the toothed edge that engages the limb, substantially as and for the purposes described.

13. A device as set forth in claim 11, wherein said saw is concavely curved at least on the toothed edge that engages the limb, the saw having rip-saw teeth which face toward the steadyrest and cut on the back strokes of the saw pole.

14. A device as set forth in claim 11, wherein said saw is concavely curved at least on the toothed edge that engages the limb, the saw having rip-saw teeth which face toward the steadyrest and cut on the back strokes of the saw pole, said steady-rest being disposed normally at an angle of approximately ninety degrees relative to the toothed edge of the saw.

BYRON J. SCHILLINGER. 

